365 Day Run Streak

On the 31st May 2013 I finished day 365 of a run streak that has taken my running to new levels. It’s been tough and there have been times when the sheer relentless nature of the challenge nearly broke me. What was the challenge? It was to run at least 30 mins every day for 365 days.

Sounds easy enough but the logistics have been challenging. Here’s my top 10 best/worst moments

1) Waking up at 3.00am to run 30 mins due to an early morning flight
2) Running at 10pm on a freezing cold Sunday evening having been ill in bed for 24 hours and declared on Facebook that the challenge was over
3) Hitting mile 25 of the marathon and knowing I was going to finally break 2 hours 45 mins. A lifetime ambition.
4) Breaking my half marathon PB at the age of 36 having set the previous time 9 years ago
5) Running in far flung places like Accrington, Bratislava and San Francisco and also running alongside the Olympic torch
6) Leaving the pub in Twickenham in my work clothes and with my work bag running 30 mins home to keep the streak going
7) Managing to run the day after falling backwards off a flat roof and injuring my coccyx
8) Running the day after the London marathon
9) Managing to stay pretty much injury free the whole 365 days despite running every day (Thanks Helen Smith)
10) Running 100 miles in one week and running twice on Christmas day (including a speed session)

Thanks to the streak I managed to PB at 1 mile, 10 miles, 13.1 miles, 16 miles, 20 miles and 26.2 miles. The standout performance was my 1.14.30 half marathon PB which was over 1m30s faster than any previous half marathon. Frequency works. Part of the reason I did the challenge was to improve my run efficiency for a full on assault on Kona. I strongly believe the benefits will last for years.